Lila broke first. “I don’t want Aunt Denise. I want Rowan.”
Phoebe nodded hard. “Me too.”
Then Tommy burst into tears, and Benji followed, and even Adam covered his face.
***
Two weeks later, temporary guardianship became mine.
I celebrated by throwing up in the courthouse bathroom.
After that, life became a list of groceries, bills, shoes, permission slips, nightmares, and who had lied about having nightmares.
“I don’t want Aunt Denise. I want Rowan.”
I dropped out of community college and worked wherever I could. I took warehouse mornings, grocery shifts, and weekend deliveries.
I learned that you could sleep standing up.
Mrs. Dalrymple next door became our miracle in orthopedic shoes.
She watched the kids and refused every dollar I offered.
“Pay me back by not burning down your kitchen,” she said, setting a casserole on our counter.
“I only burned rice once.”
“Rice isn’t supposed to smoke, Rowan.”
Lila laughed for the first time that week.
I dropped out of community college.
***
Three years passed like that. They were not easy or clean, but we stayed together.
I learned which teachers assumed I was irresponsible before I even opened my mouth. I learned how to argue with insurance companies while packing lunches. I learned to put back my fancy deodorant so Tommy could get his favorite cereal.
